Iroquois Confederacy/Transcript
Transcript Text reads: The Mysteries of Life with Tim and Moby A boy, Tim, is examining his backyard treehouse. Someone has taken wood from it and made it unsafe. TIM: Who would do such a thing? He looks out onto his backyard. He hears hammering. He follows the source of the sound, passing a partially completed wooden longhouse. A robot, Moby, is at a sawhouse. He is hammering a nail into a board from Tim's tree house. TIM: Why?! MOBY: Beep! Beep! TIM: You got an idea from the Iroquois? Moby nods and hands Tim a piece of paper. Tim reads from a typed letter. TIM: Dear Tim and Moby, Who were the Iroquois? From, Lucas. Well, a better question to answer is "who are the Iroquois?" The Iroquois Confederacy, also called the Six Nations, is a group of Indians with similar languages and cultures. An image shows three Native people. Each is dressed differently to denote that he is from a different nation of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. TIM: The original five were the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca. The Tuscarora joined later. An image shows a map of the original locations of the six nations in present-day New York state. TIM: No one knows the timing for sure, but some historians believe the Confederacy first came together about 900 years ago. MOBY: Beep? TIM: Haudenosaunee means "people are building a long house." MOBY: Beep? Moby holds up his hammer. TIM: A longhouse is, well, just that—a long house made mostly of bark that's big enough for 20 families or more! An image shows the outside of a longhouse. TIM: The name reflected the idea that the six nations should live together like families in a longhouse. An animation shows the inside of a longhouse. Families are gathered inside. Meat is roasting over a fire in the center of the longhouse. TIM: But just like any family, the members didn't always get along. The camera turns over to two women arguing with each other. TIM: In fact, there were deep divisions until two leaders, the Great Peacemaker and Hiawatha, united them with a message of peace and cooperation. An image shows the Great Peacemaker and Hiawatha standing next to each other in the woods. MOBY: Beep? TIM: Sure, the Great Peacemaker had a name. But some Iroquois prefer not to say it out loud, except during special ceremonies. MOBY: Beep? TIM: According to legend, they brought the tribes together during a total solar eclipse. The alliance of former enemies became a major military power in what is now upstate New York. An animation shows the Great Peacemaker and Hiawatha shaking hands atop a small hill as the sun goes dark. A crowd at the bottom of the hill looks on. TIM: The Iroquois government is also considered one of the oldest democracies in the world! Each nation is independent but also an equal member of the alliance, sort of like the individual states of the U.S. In fact, the Iroquois constitution, The Great Law of Peace, was an inspiration for the U.S. Constitution! All responsibilities of governing are handled by a Great Council of 50 sachems, or chiefs, from the different nations. An animation shows a council meeting. The sachems are sitting together in a half-circle. One sachem is standing and carrying a staff. TIM: The council declared war, made peace, negotiated treaties, ran the affairs of conquered tribes, and organized the observance of religious festivals. A unanimous vote of all 50 chiefs was required for every decision! MOBY: Beep? TIM: Well, the chiefs have always been men, but they're chosen by the women who lead the local clans. An animation shows two Haudenosaunee women watching the Great Council meeting. TIM: These mothers of the nation can also remove sachems who haven't done a good job. An image shows three mothers of the nation. One holds an infant. TIM: Long before American women got the right to vote, Iroquois women could own property, divorce their husbands, and contribute to important political decisions. And while men hunted and fished, women provided the main source of food, through farming. Corn, beans, and squash were the staples of the Iroquois diet. An image shows Haudenosaunee women tending to crops. Other images show squash, beans, and corn. MOBY: Beep? TIM: Oh, we know all this because the Iroquois have a strong oral tradition. Since they didn't have a traditional writing system, they relied on the spoken word to pass down their history. An animation shows an elderly Haudenosaunee person speaking to a group of Haudenosaunee children. The children are listening intently. TIM: They also developed a record-keeping system using wampum, special beads made from shells that are woven together into belts. The designs on these belts recorded ideas and events. Images show several examples of wampum. The belts appear the way Tim describes them. TIM: For example, the famous Hiawatha belt symbolizes the unity of the five nations. A white path connects the five original nations, represented by the four squares and the Tree of Peace in the center. An image shows the purple and white Hiawatha belt, with the designs that Tim describes. TIM: Elders who tell the stories of these events can “read” the belts as a memory aid. An image shows an elder stretching a piece of wampum between his two hands, examining it. TIM: It's one of the ways the Iroquois of today have preserved much of their culture! MOBY: Beep? TIM: Yeah, unfortunately, the arrival of Europeans in the 1600s spelled trouble for all American Indians, including the Iroquois. The Iroquois regularly fought the French and later sided with Great Britain against France in the French and Indian War which the British won. An image shows Haudenosaunee warriors battling French soldiers in a wooded area. TIM: Then during the American Revolution, the Confederacy began to crumble when a rift formed between the Six Nations. The Oneida and Tuscarora joined the American side. While the Mohawk, Seneca, Onondaga, and Cayuga remained loyal to the British. A map shows present-day New York State. The locations of the Six Nations are indicated, with U.S. and British flags declaring the affiliation of each. TIM: After a series of Mohawk-led raids against American settlements, the Americans launched a huge attack on the British-allied nations in 1779. Moby frowns and puts his hand over his mouth. TIM: Many villages were destroyed, and the defeat spelled the end of the confederacy as a major military power. An animation shows burning longhouses. TIM: After the war, the Onondaga, Seneca, and Tuscarora lost most of their land. They stayed in New York on reservations—reduced portions of their original territory. A map shows the locations of the reservations Tim describes. TIM: The remaining three nations were forced off their land completely. The Mohawk and Cayuga moved to Canada, and the Oneida moved to Wisconsin. An animated map with images and graphics depicts the relocations that Tim describes. MOBY: Beep. Moby looks sad. TIM: Yeah, they vertully lost most of their land. But despite the losses, each nation kept its sovereignty, or right to self-rule. And their shared culture and laws remain strong today. Modern Iroquois still send representatives to the Great Council, which meets in Onondaga territory near Syracuse, New York. An image shows several modern-day Haudenosaunee, both male and female, in a large group meeting. TIM: It's the oldest government body in North America! Tim hears hammering. He investigates. Moby has completed his longhouse with the wood from Tim's treehouse. TIM: I gotta hand it to you, that's a pretty impressive longhouse! MOBY: Beep! Tim sees a sign atop Moby's longhouse. The sign reads: Moby's Bowling Alley. TIM: A bowling alley?! What kind of a Iroquois are you? Category:BrainPOP Transcripts